50 bps repo rate hike expected in South Africa

CAPE TOWN – Steinhoff is seeking to appeal a ruling ordering it to share a forensic probe into accounting fraud with two media groups.

Earlier this month, amaBhungane and Tiso Blackstar* won a court case for access to Steinhoff’s 3 000-page investigation into the accounting scandal that caused its share price to plunge and led to the resignation of its CEO, Markus Jooste.

Steinhoff had argued that the report was privileged and should be kept under wraps, as its dissemination would undermine future court cases

PRETORIA – The 50 bps repo rate hike was expected and is appropriate, economists said after the announcement last Thursday that the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank decided to deviate from the usual 25 basis points of the past few months.

The rate hike during the May meeting was the first 50 bps rate increase since January 2016. According to economic research group Oxford Economics Africa, against implicated former executives, including Jooste. The Western Cape High Court, however, ruled that Steinhoff failed to establish that the report was protected by legal privilege and ordered it to be shared with the media.

The retailer is now seeking leave to appeal the ruling on the basis that it would be ‘prejudiced by the premature disclosure of the contents’.

It will argue that there is ‘clear evidence’ that it was already contemplating litigation when it commissioned PwC to conduct the probe in late 2017 - meaning the investigation can be kept private under court rules.

the May meeting was well timed for a larger interest rate increase, as it is the only policy meeting for the second quarter and the latest data developments points to the annual inflation peaking at the end of the quarter before gradually moderating.

The decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to increase the repo rate by 50 bps was in line with the consensus view, including its own, the group said.